Mastering PowerPoint Presentations with Microsoft 365 Copilot

PowerPoint

Master your PowerPoint presentations with precision using Microsoft 365 Copilot from Bluwater Technologies. Elevate your slides effortlessly with AI prompts and guidance, enhancing your presentation style and audience engagement. Transform Word documents seamlessly into engaging presentations, ensuring a cohesive and professional look. Utilize Copilot’s AI prompts for structuring documents effectively and streamlining your creation processes. Access training courses and additional resources, perfect presentation outlines efficiently, and customize handouts with Copilot. Elevate your presentations with Copilot’s assistance, making your presentation preparation a seamless experience.

Utilizing Copilot for Theme Selection

When choosing a theme for your presentation, let Copilot assist you in quickly selecting the most suitable option. Copilot’s AI-powered presentation enhancements can help you create beautiful and compelling presentations effortlessly. Start by considering your presentation style and the audience you’re targeting. Copilot can guide you in choosing a professional and creative presentation theme that aligns with your content. Utilizing a corporate template lets you maintain a coherent structure throughout your slides.

To ensure a cohesive presentation, include relevant images that enhance your message and engage your audience. Copilot can provide suggestions for incorporating visuals that complement your content effectively. With Copilot’s assistance, you can create a visually appealing slide deck that resonates with your audience—Trust Copilot to help you craft stunning presentations that leave a lasting impression on your viewers. Remember, a well-chosen theme with relevant images can significantly elevate the impact of your presentation.

Creating Presentations from Word Documents

To efficiently transform Word documents into engaging presentations, leverage Copilot’s AI-powered assistance for seamless content creation.

Creating a presentation from a file is simple with Copilot. Select the Copilot button in the Home tab of PowerPoint, then click ‘Create presentation from file’ and choose the Word document you wish to convert. This process allows for comprehensive presentations incorporating natural language from the original document.

Copilot’s artificial intelligence helps design slides that match your Word file’s content, ensuring a cohesive and professional look. Whether you’re preparing a sales pitch presentation, a concise presentation for a meeting, or a detailed business presentation, Copilot streamlines the creation process.

Remember to edit the presentation as needed, add speaker notes for guidance during the presentation, and review the draft presentation for any necessary adjustments before finalizing your slides.

Copilot is your co-pilot in creating impactful presentations from your Word documents.

Enhancing Copilot Understanding With Word Styles

Enhance Copilot’s comprehension by implementing Word Styles to structure your document effectively for seamless content creation.

When creating your presentation outline, be sure to leverage Word Styles to help Copilot understand the structure of your content.

Start using your organization’s template in Word and include relevant images to provide context.

Remember to use Copilot AI prompts to assist and ensure accuracy as you edit your draft.

Consider using Speaker Coach to improve your voice and tone when editing the draft.

Throughout the presentation preparation process, Copilot can be a valuable assistant, helping you create content, edit drafts, and provide guidance.

Accessing Additional Copilot Resources

Discover a wealth of additional Copilot resources to enhance your PowerPoint presentations effortlessly. Copilot subscription benefits allow you to access valuable training courses that elevate your presentation skills.

Consider exploring the subscription plan to maximize your practical usage of Copilot resources. Dive into the Copilot Lab for hands-on practice and guidance in utilizing Copilot features to their fullest potential.

Engage with the Microsoft Community for insights, tips, and troubleshooting assistance related to Copilot and PowerPoint presentations. Ensure you know the privacy statement to maintain data security while utilizing Copilot tools.

Additionally, explore the various handouts available to prepare your presentation and create engaging content. Leverage the Speaker Coach feature for tips and guidance on improving your presentation delivery.

These additional resources provided by Copilot can significantly enhance your overall presentation experience and help you create impactful slides effortlessly.

Leveraging Copilot for Presentation Outlines

When preparing your presentation outlines, leverage Copilot’s AI prompts to streamline the content creation process efficiently. Here’s how you can make the most of Copilot for your presentation outlines:

Get Started

Use OneNote to create a new page for your presentation outline and start Copilot from the ribbon.

Provide Guidance

Set the role for Copilot in creating content, specify the audience, and run the prompt for a detailed response.

Review and Refine

Add personal touches, use OneNote for research, and edit for voice, tone, and accuracy. Ask Copilot for more content if needed.

Handouts and Slide Deck

Copy the outline for handouts, draft an article in Word using Copilot, and save it to OneDrive. For the slide deck, open PowerPoint, let Copilot create a draft, review and edit it, and practice with Speaker Coach for improvement while utilizing Copilot for assistance.

Customizing Handouts with Copilot

To personalize your handouts effectively, utilize Copilot’s assistance in tailoring content to meet your specific audience’s needs. When creating handouts with Copilot in Microsoft 365 PowerPoint, you can leverage its customization features to enhance the preparation process.

After drafting your presentation decks, use Copilot to assist in crafting informative and visually appealing handouts. Copy the outline of your presentation into Microsoft Word with Copilot’s help to create detailed articles that align with your presentation content efficiently.

During the customization phase, review and edit the article with Copilot’s guidance, adding relevant images to make it more engaging for your audience. Save the handout to OneDrive for easy access and sharing.

Perfecting Slide Decks With Copilot

Enhance your slide decks efficiently by leveraging Copilot’s assistance in drafting and perfecting engaging presentations. When perfecting your slide decks with Copilot, consider the following:

  • Utilize Copilot AI prompts to create content
  • Make use of template integration for a polished presentation
  • Seamlessly integrate content from Word documents
  • Utilize Speaker Coach integration to refine your presentation delivery

Maximizing Microsoft 365 Copilot’s Potential

You’ve unlocked the key to effortless presentation design with Microsoft 365 Copilot AI prompts. Seamlessly choose themes, create presentations from Word documents, and enhance Copilot’s understanding of Word styles.

Access additional resources, leverage Copilot for outlines, customize handouts, and perfect slide decks effortlessly. Elevate your storytelling game and master the art of presentation design with Copilot.

Say goodbye to tedious design work and hello to a world of innovation and creativity. Let Bluwater Technologies and Microsoft 365 Copilot guide you to presentation perfection.

Ready to master PowerPoint presentations effortlessly? Partner with Bluwater Technologies, a WheelHouse IT company and harness the power of Microsoft 365 Copilot’s AI prompts. Elevate your slides with precision and style, transforming your presentations into captivating experiences. Take the next step towards presentation perfection with Bluwater Technologies today!

Streamlining Communication With Microsoft 365 Copilot in Outlook

Copilot

Isn’t it quite a coincidence that just as you’re grappling with an overflowing inbox and back-to-back meetings, Microsoft 365 Copilot in Outlook emerges as a beacon of hope?

You’ve likely heard the buzz around AI revolutionizing the workplace, but with Copilot in Outlook, you’re experiencing it firsthand. This tool isn’t just about managing your emails more efficiently; it’s about redefining your communication strategy.

From drafting precise emails to streamlining your meeting preparations, Copilot is poised to transform your daily grind. Now, imagine the impact on your productivity and the newfound ease in your workday.

Curious to find out how? Well, that’s precisely where the journey begins.

Benefits of Using Copilot in Outlook

Harnessing the power of Microsoft 365 Copilot in Outlook significantly boosts your email efficiency and business productivity. This AI-driven assistant transforms how you manage your inbox, ensuring your communication is as efficient as possible. With its advanced email management capabilities, you’re not just staying on top of your emails but mastering them. Copilot’s AI assistance offers personalized suggestions, helping you draft responses quickly and with the right tone, making your communication more effective.

Moreover, Copilot excels in meeting preparation, follow-up, and organizing your inbox to prioritize essential messages and actions. This level of inbox organization is crucial for maintaining high levels of business productivity, ensuring you’re always prepared and responsive. The personalized suggestions provided by Outlook Copilot are tailored to your unique communication style and needs, further enhancing your productivity.

Additionally, the mobile accessibility of Outlook Copilot means you can enjoy these benefits on the go. Whether commuting or between meetings, you can rely on Copilot to keep your communication efficient and your productivity high. This seamless integration across devices ensures you’re always at the top of your email game, no matter where you are.

Maximizing Email Efficiency with Copilot

Maximizing your email efficiency becomes a reality with Copilot’s advanced AI features, streamlining your inbox management like never before. With AI-powered features at your disposal, you’re not just keeping your inbox organized; you’re elevating your business productivity to new heights. Copilot offers personalized assistance, ensuring every email you send is optimized for clear communication. This isn’t just about getting through your emails faster—it’s about making each interaction more meaningful.

Through email triage, Copilot helps you prioritize your messages, ensuring that you’re always focusing on what matters most. This level of communication optimization means you’re not just reacting to your inbox; you’re strategically managing it. The result? Streamlined workflows that free up your time for more critical tasks.

And let’s pay attention to productivity enhancements. Copilot doesn’t just help with email; it’s an integral part of your entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem, enabling seamless collaboration across all your applications. By integrating Copilot into your daily routine, you’re not just improving your email efficiency; you’re transforming how you work, ensuring that every minute of your day counts towards achieving your business goals.

Enhancing Meeting Preparation with Copilot

Preparing for meetings becomes significantly easier with Copilot, streamlining the process by organizing your agenda and suggesting content improvements. With Microsoft 365 Copilot integrated into Outlook, you manage your emails more efficiently and boost your meeting preparation. The AI prompts provided by Copilot offer invaluable assistance, ensuring that your communication is clear, concise, and impactful.

Imagine having a personal assistant in Outlook that helps with email management and elevates your productivity by preparing you for upcoming meetings. This is what Copilot brings to the table. It’s not just about inbox management; it’s about enhancing your business productivity through smart, AI-driven suggestions. Whether drafting an agenda, summarizing key discussion points, or suggesting follow-up tasks, Copilot’s AI prompts support you every step of the way.

In today’s fast-paced business environment, effective communication is critical. With Microsoft 365 Copilot’s assistance in Outlook, you can tackle meeting preparation with confidence and ease, ensuring you’re always one step ahead.

Copilot’s Impact on Inbox Management

After exploring how Copilot enhances meeting preparation, let’s examine its profound effect on managing your inbox more efficiently. Copilot’s introduction into your email routine marks a significant leap in productivity enhancement. With its intelligent email assistance, you’re tackling emails and mastering inbox management. By leveraging AI suggestions, the tool offers a streamlined approach to sifting through your emails, ensuring communication efficiency is at its peak.

Imagine having a personal assistant that helps with meeting preparation and personalized action items tailored just for you. That’s Copilot for you. It revolutionizes email prioritization, ensuring you focus on what’s crucial, filtering out the noise. This isn’t just about keeping your inbox tidy; it’s about enhancing your business productivity by ensuring you’re always on top of your game.

Moreover, Copilot makes these productivity gains accessible on your desktop and across devices, ensuring seamless communication efficiency. However, it’s crucial to note that the real magic lies in how it integrates with your daily workflow, turning the daunting task of inbox management into a breeze without stepping into the realm of mobile accessibility—that’s a story for another time.

Boosting Mobile Productivity with Copilot

In today’s fast-paced world, leveraging Copilot in Outlook on your mobile device frequently boosts productivity by streamlining email management on the go. The Outlook mobile app, powered by Microsoft 365 Copilot, transforms how you handle your inbox, ensuring you’re always on top of your game. With generative AI assistance, crafting emails becomes quicker and more intuitive, seamlessly fitting into your busy lifestyle.

This AI-driven tool is a cornerstone of the 365 ecosystem, designed to enhance communication efficiency whether you’re commuting, between meetings, or simply away from your desk. Its capabilities extend beyond just writing; it aids in meeting preparation and inbox organization, ensuring you’re prepared and your communication is clear and impactful.

Conclusion

So, you’ve seen how Copilot in Outlook can transform your email game, making communication smoother and more efficient.

From drafting emails with ease to prepping for meetings like a pro and managing your inbox without breaking a sweat, Copilot’s got your back.

Plus, boosting your productivity on the go is a breeze. With just a few clicks to enable its features, you’re all set to revolutionize how you connect and collaborate.

Welcome to the future of email with Copilot.

Ready to revolutionize your email game and boost productivity? Discover the future of communication with Microsoft 365 Copilot in Outlook. Take the first step towards seamless collaboration and efficiency. Try Copilot today with Bluwater Technologies, a WheelHouse IT company.

#WorkingFromHome Solutions with Microsoft Teams

a laptop with the microsoft logo on it

Staying home together can be a challenge when it comes to staying connected and apart. Many small to mid-sized businesses are feeling the anxiety of the #WorkFromHome life, just as many employees struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy and minimal disruption to their departmental teams. Business owners can use technology to ensure processes continue to run smoothly during COVID-19.

Microsoft Teams is the essential remote worker’s suite for empowering companies and keeping colleagues connected.

All-In-One Platform

One of the biggest fears many companies harbor is the loss of productivity during this difficult time. The idea of transitioning an entire company to working remotely on minimal notice is a daunting undertaking. With the looming uncertainty and adjustment to new operating procedures, profit loss seems inevitable. Busy companies can’t afford a day off, let alone an undefined furlough.

Now that we’ve covered the doom and gloom, it’s time to look at the vast opportunities this “new normal” presents. There’s no need for productivity to drop off due to transitioning to a remote office. Remote work has been on the rise with many of the top-growing companies over the past few years. The key to success lies in the right tools.

Microsoft Teams eliminates the learning curve by keeping new technology simple. The user-friendly, all-in-one platform centralizes software, CRM databases, spreadsheets, messaging, and more in a secured Cloud based location. 

The result? Reduced employee downtime.

According to the Forrester Study: The Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Teams, “having resources available online in Teams reduces downtime by 14.6 percent.” This allows for streamlined compliance and security while keeping your business on the upward growth curve.

Collaboration Made Simple with Microsoft Teams

The benefits of a dynamic team are often erroneously linked to a shared, brick-and-mortar office. The reality is that it’s quite common for key executive members to operate on a long-distance basis, with flexible hours and remote work quickly becoming the best way to attract high-quality talent. 

Teams makes collaboration a snap with easy documentation, screen sharing, data exchange, and personable communications. In fact, a recent Forrester Study found that “information workers were able to save 4hrs/wk through improved collaboration and information sharing.” This leaves extra hours to catch up on backlogged projects.

The fast, real-time environment of Teams allows businesses to hold morning meetings, schedule conferences with core clients and investors, and check in anytime, anywhere. If your company is growing fast, there’s no reason to pump the brakes quite yet. Interviews are simple and timely via Teams, allowing multiple executive members to be a part of the process.

Best of all, Teams keeps your company together. The sense of camaraderie between our colleagues has never been more needed. Support your staff during this difficult time by fostering a culture of positivity and teamwork.

Budget Friendly for Reduced Overhead

Maintaining fiscal responsibility is more vital now than ever. There’s no need to invest in high-tech solutions to keep your company running from home. Microsoft offers a range of affordable Office 365 and Microsoft 365 options depending on your company’s needs. Best of all, Microsoft Teams is proud to feature small business solutions. If you aren’t looking to purchase a bundled option, the basic app for Teams is free to download and can host up to 300 members.

In addition, travel costs were greatly reduced, freeing up overhead expenses. The Forrester Study found that “an average of 150 overnight trips [were] replaced with online meetings by year 3 [of implementation].”

We know the current state of #WorkingFromHome has yielded a lot of uncertainty, but in the transition to remote work, innovative, new opportunities are being discovered every day. Your friends at Bluwater Technologies are here to support our business clients now more than ever with on-demand IT services for small businesses.

Contact our experts for more COVID-19 guidance and tips on transitioning your office to a robust remote workforce.

How to Make Windows 10 Look Like Windows 7

a napkin with writing on it next to a cup of coffee

The old adage, “The more things change, the more they stay the same” is rarely found in the world of information technology. One of the great aspects of technology, however, is that the field is constantly coming up with exciting new innovations. While new developments may introduce features ranging from critical to some interesting new bells and whistles, it can be frustrating for employers who feel they have to constantly re-train their staff to do the same tasks in a different way, every time a new operating system or some other type of technology comes to the market.

Since change is inevitable, especially with operating systems, one of the ways to make a transition as easy as possible is to find ways to make a new operating system have at least some of the look and functionality of the previous operating system. In this post, we will outline several tips on how to help a Windows 7 user cross over to the newer Windows 10 OS.

Start at the Beginning

Of course, it helps if everything begins at the Start Menu and Windows 10 does just that. Windows 7 users will note that Microsoft attempted to blend the best of both worlds, with some of the features of the old Windows 7 Start Menu, along with new “tiles” which work very similarly to app icons found on smartphones. For those who really want their Windows 10 Start Menu to function in the same manner as Windows 7’s, the Open Shell program found here does a great job of replicating the Windows 7 Start Menu.

File Explorer

Windows 7 users will be relieved to find the Windows 10 File Explorer remains essentially unchanged from Windows 7, although there are some minor differences. Windows 7 users who want to replicate their past working environment as much as possible, might want to consider making the following change:

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. From the File Menu in the upper left corner, click on “Options”. 
  3. On the “General” tab, change “Open File Explorer to:” dropdown option to “This PC”.
  4. Click on the “Apply” button to apply the changes, then click on “Ok” to close the window.

The Windows 10 Taskbar 

The default taskbar in Windows 10 might seem a bit cluttered to a Windows 7 user. To create a cleaner look on the taskbar, simply right-click on the taskbar and uncheck items such as “show Cortana button” or “show Task View button”. The Microsoft Store icon can also be removed by right-clicking on it, then selecting “Unpin from Taskbar”.

The Wallpaper

Some people want to feel really at home on their computer screen and don’t want to give up even their Windows 7 wallpaper. Luckily, they don’t have to. Simply select one of the familiar Windows 7 wallpapers from the official site, here, save it, then right-click on the saved file image to set it as the wallpaper background. 

Windows 10 Overall Color Scheme

Last but not least, some Windows 7 users want their Windows 10 color scheme to reflect their old Windows 7 colors. To make this happen, perform the following steps:

  1. Right-click on a blank space anywhere on the Desktop.
  2. Click “Personalize”, then select “Colors” on the left side of the menu.
  3. Scroll down to the right side of the screen that pops up and choose the colors from “Windows colors” that look familiar.
  4. Scroll even further to see options to change areas such as “the Start, taskbar, and action center” along with the “Title bars and window borders” boxes. 

Play around with all the various colors and options to find all the familiar color components. If you would like to know more about how to smooth the transition from using Windows 7 to Windows 10, please contact us.

Office 365 vs Office 2019 – Which One is Best for Your Business?

the comparison between office 365 and office 365

When it comes to which product is superior, Microsoft’s traditional Office (2019) suite, or their relatively new Office 365 package, there is no definitive answer. Microsoft offers two options for its customers because it recognizes that a one-size-fits-all philosophy may not necessarily meet the needs of everyone in its very large audience.

In this post, we will outline some of the key features of each suite so each business can decide for itself, which package is better suited for its particular office environment.

Office 365 for Business

Office 365 is a cloud-based version of Microsoft’s suite of office products such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, plus additional business-related apps. Instead of paying a one-time license fee, buyers pay a monthly or annual subscription for use of the product. 

Some key advantages include:

  • Regular updates
  • Increased cloud-based collaboration
  • Use apps on multiple devices
  • Linking (rather than attaching) files to emails
  • Multiple subscription-level options

Microsoft Office 2019

This is Microsoft’s stand-alone version of their Office line of software applications. Buyers make a one-time purchase of the package, which includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook. Microsoft does offer a business version of the product and the one-time fee is good until the end of life of the product (infinite access).

Advantages of the stand-alone package include:

  • Pay only once
  • 60 days of free support
  • Tried and true classic office applications

Generally speaking, Microsoft’s Office 2019 software is a good choice for very small businesses — typically less than 5 employees. As a stand-alone product, there is a fee attached to each copy of the software so if you have 3 machines using Office 2019, you’ll have 3 licenses. For slightly larger companies who use other cloud-based applications, Office 365 may be a better choice. It certainly offers more on-the-go flexibility by allowing the use of the app on multiple devices, as well as multiple subscription options.

If you would like to know more about how to select the right office package for your business, please contact us.